The death of Jesus When Jesus died on the cross He died in our place, the hell that we deserve He took on Himself. When the bible says that Jesus paid the penalty for our sin, this isn’t symbolic, this is literal. Jesus stood in our place. The effect of this is every sin that we have committed, or ever will commit is now paid for. Romans 3:23-25 “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God” The death of Jesus accomplishes two things: 1. expiation, 2. propitiation Expiation The word that is translated “expiation” is the Greek word “hilasmos” Expiation means "to make amends" or "to atone for", and it implies the removal or cleansing of sin. It can also be seen as "the removal of the reasons for punishment". This has the idea of cleansing, 1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin” The Old Testament pointed to this, the idea that the blood of the sacrificed animals cleansed the people of their sins. The New Testament writers, looking back at the Old Testament saw that these sacrifices were only a symbol of Jesus accomplished. Hebrews 10:4 “For it is not possible that the blood of the bulls and of goats should take away sins” The idea of “expiation” is present here: the taking away of sins. The point being made here is that goats and bulls were incapable of cleaning us from our sins, it required the death of Jesus. John the Baptist sees Jesus he proclaims, “Behold the Lamb of God who comes to take away the sins of the world” (John 1:29) Romans 3:25 “Whom God set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood” Propitiation means "to make favorable", and it refers to averting God’s wrath against sinners. It is the act that appeased the total and full wrath of God’s judgment for the sins of human beings. Because of the appeasement’s completeness, propitiation is also understood as "satisfaction." We were children of wrath according Ephesians 2:3 however, because what Jesus accomplished on our behalf, God’s wrath is Satisfied. Our sins are covered so to speak. This is where Christianity differs from all other religions. When you read about Pegan religions, the sinner is responsible for appeasing the god(s). However, in Christianity, God, through the death of His son appeases His on righteousness demands. In the atonement, God pours out His wrath on Jesus and not us. Let’s define these terms in another way by way of an illustration: You just stole something from Walmart, and you’ve been caught by the furious store manager. a) Jesus intercedes and offers to pay for the item, in doing so, this covers your transgression. This is expiation. b) Jesus intercedes and goes to jail for your crime and to the satisfaction of the broken law. This is propitiation. Jesus did both on the cross, He pays the penalty for our sin, (Romans 6:23) “the wages of sin is death”, and He satisfies the righteous demands of God by absorbing God’s wrath in our place (Isaiah 52:4) “by His strips we are healed”. And He cleanses us from all unrighteousness 1 John 1:9 The burial of Jesus Mat 27:57-66 It was against Jewish law to leave a dead body hanging on a tree overnight, by law the body had to be buried the same day Deuteronomy 21:22-23 John 19:31-38. The burial of Jesus may seem like a minor detail; however, it really is an important fact in the gospel. Notice 1 Corinthians 15, when defines what the gospel is, he adds the burial of Jesus along with the death and resurrection. He doesn’t say that the gospel is the “death and resurrection” of Jesus, no it’s the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Why is the burial of Jesus important to Christian Theology? 1. If fulfils prophesy Isiah 53:9 “And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death” We are told in Matthew 27:57 that Jesus was buried in a rich man’s grave, Joseph of Arimathea, 2. Because Jesus was buried in Joseph of Arimathea’s grave, everyone knew where Jesus’ body could be found. And since Joseph was a well-known man, people couldn’t say that Jesus’ body was buried in an unmarked tomb, or His grave was missed marked. Both of these explanations have been attempted throughout centuries, and have failed, because Jesus was buried in the tomb of a very prominent man. We are told in Mark 15:43 Joseph of Arimathea was a “honorable counsellor” 3. Matthew 27:59 “He wrapped it in clean linen cloth” John 19:40 adds “and with spices”. The Jews didn’t embalm the dead. Instead what they would do is wrap the body in a linen cloth and layer spices like myrrh and frankincense between wraps. This is important because if His disciples had known what the meaning of Psalm 16:10, they wouldn’t have bothered. Psalm 16 is Messianic, meaning it’s about Jesus, it’s saying that God would not allow the Messiah’s body to decay. After the death of Jesus His disciples did not concoct a plan to steal the body of Jesus and tell everyone that He was resurrected. They didn’t anticipate the resurrection! The fully expected His body to decay and turn to dust 4. The bible says that Jesus was in the grave three days, this means that He was dead. Let’s say that the crucifixion didn’t kill, He couldn’t have survived in the tomb three days with the wounds from the crucifixion. The fact that he was buried let’s everyone know that Jesus was dead The resurrection of Jesus (The sad walk for the Mary’s) Mat 28:1 “In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to down toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary to see the sepulcher” Can you imagine how sad they were as they were on their way to the tomb? These women have left everything behind to follow Jesus, and now He was gone, all of their hopes and dreams were now a thing of the past. Mat 28:2-4 “And behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from Heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lighting, and his raiment white as snow: And the fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men” If you will remember from the previous chapter, the Jews went to Pilate and ask for guards to be placed at Jesus’ tomb so the disciples would not come and still the body and claim that Jesus had resurrected from the dead (Mat 27:62-66). Now I can envision some the things that these soldiers expected while they were stationed and this sepulture, for instance some of them probably expected a fight. Others might have expected just a long night hanging out in a cemetery. But none of them expected to have an encounter with an angel. The response of the soldiers Mat 28:4 “And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men” The bible says that men were so afraid that they fell to the ground and couldn’t move, “they became as dead men”. The angel speaks Mat 28:5-6 “And the angel answered and said unto the women, fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for He is risen, as He said. Come see the place where the Lord lay” This further speaks to the fact that His disciples didn’t expect the resurrection, the angel had to show them where Jesus was, so that they would see that He’s not there anymore What’s the big deal about the resurrection? 1. The resurrection proves Jesus was who He said He was, God (Rom 1:4). Jesus made some pretty big claims while He was here on earth (Jon 8:58 Ex 3), if He remained in the grave, He would have been forgotten all the other people that have claimed to be God 2. The resurrection is proof that the Father was satisfied with the sacrifice of Jesus (Rom 4:23-25). The bible says that Jesus paid the penalty for our sins which was death (Rom 6:23), His resurrection tell us that God is satisfied with what He did, so there is no need for us to add anything to it. So now we are justified in the sight of God, which means to have right standing. We were guilty, and deserving of death and eternal separation, now because of the finished work of Christ on the cross, we are now justified. 3. The resurrection assures us of our salvation. (John 14:19) Jesus said, “because I live, ye shall live”.